Cloth cutting machine



(No Model.) J WOLF J 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE. I No.578,382. Patented Mar; 9, 1897.

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J; WOLF, Jr.

cLbTH CUTTING MAGHINE.

Patented Mar.

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J. WOLF, Jr. GLOTH CUTTING MACHINE.

No. 578,382. Patented Mar. 9, 1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WOLF, JR., OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WOLF ELEC- TRICALPROMOTING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CLOTH-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 578,382, dated March 9,1897. Application filed July 20,1896. Serial No. 599,865, (No model.)

To all whom it may cancer...

Be it known that I, JOHN WVOLF, Jr., a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oloth- CuttingMachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines or devices for cutting textilefabrics and other material, but more particularly to a class of machinesespecially designed for cutting cloth for manufacturers ofwearing-apparel.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a cutting-machinewhich will readily permit a series of articles of a uniform size and ofany desired form to be cut from a number of superposed layers ofmaterial, without the necessity of constantly moving the driving-motor,by suspending or supporting the same adjacent to the cutter or knifeactuating mechanism, whereby the weight upon the surface of the table atthe point of cutting may be materially reduced and the machine readilyguided through the material by the operator.

Further objects are to provide a simple, efficient, and durable machineor device which may be used in connection with the usual operating tableor tables, and to so support or suspend the motor and cutter or knifeactuating mechanism that the weight upon the footplate and the rackingand jolting of the parts may be materially reduced, in order that themachine may be constructed as light as possible.

lVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and combination of the several parts, substantially ashereinafter described, and then pointed out in the claims at the end ofthe'description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, Figure l is a side elevation of apreferred form ofmachine in position for use. Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating how theknife or cutter operatiu mechanism may be moved in various and 8 are aside elevation and a vertical transverse section, respectively, partlyin elevation, of a modified form of knife-bar and knife or cutter; andFig. 9 is a detail perspective view of a foot or plate adapted to beemployed as a support for the machine.

In the drawings, A may designate a table of the usual or of anypreferred form, upon which any suitable number of superposed layers ofmaterial may be placed, according to the number of duplicate piecesdesired to be cut therefrom. .Upon this table A may be arranged one ormore tracks (1, located at or near the edge of the table or intermediatethe ends thereof, along which track or tracks a carriage B is adapted totravel. This carriage may be of any suitable form and may comprise aframe b and the wheels b, journaled in the forward and rear portion ofthe frame, said Wheels being arranged in the same longitudinal plane andgrooved or otherwise formed so as to prevent the carriage from tippingover or leaving the track.

An electric motor O, of any preferred form, receiving its power from anysuitable source of supply, may be mounted upon the frame of the carriageand is preferably pivoted thereto by a bolt 0 or otherwise, so as tomake a part or a whole revolution, as desired, though any other suitablemotor may be employed, if preferred.

Extending outwardly from the motor 0 is a shaft 0, adapted to rotatewith the armature thereof, the outer portion of which shaft is journaledin the upper portion of a bracket or support D. A sleeve 61 may have oneof its ends secured to the bracket and its other end secured to aportion of the motor, so as to surround the shaft 0 to protect theoperator from injury by catching his clothing or otherwise and in orderthat the bracket, shaft, and motor may be moved laterally with the bolt0 as a pivot or the whole moved simultaneously in line with the track a,so that the bracket or frame D may be moved in any desired direction andevery portion of the upper surface of the operating-table be withinreach of the operator, according to the distance between the bracket andthe pivoting-point. This bracket or frame may have a box forming abearing-surface for the shaft 0 and may be provided with a recess orreceptacle d, adapted to hold a suitable lubricant, which may beconstantly fed to the shaft and the bearing-surface of the box by anendless band or chain 01 the latter having rotary motion impartedthereto as the driving-shaft revolves.

For the purpose of guiding or moving the knife so as to cut sharp orother curves I preferably provide an apertured boss 01 at or near thelower portion of the bracket or frame D, in which a knife-bar guide E isarranged. This guide is preferably provided with a flange e or otherportion intermediate its ends adapted to abut against the under surfaceof the boss d and may have its upper end screwthreaded and provided witha nut e, which abuts against the upper surface of the boss, so as topermit rotary but not vertical movement of the guide. The guide E mayhave a cylindrical outer surface and is provided with a preferablyrectangular aperture there through in which a knife-bar E is adapted toreciprocate, a guard 6 being provided when necessary upon the lowerportion of the guide in order to prevent the hand of the operator beinginjured by the knife or knife-bar.

The knife-bar may be made of tubular steel or other material, and has asuitable knife or cutter e provided with a preferably lower inclinedcutting edge secured to the lower end of said bar by bolts or screws ewhich pass through the open-ended slots e", so as to permit the knife tobe readily removed, the ends of the bolts being screw-threaded andengaging threaded apertures in a block interposed between the surface oftheknife and theknifebar and secured to or formed integrally with saidknife-bar.

At the upper end of the knife-bar'is a plug secured thereto or formedintegrally therewith, provided with a stem 6 adapted to pass through anaperture or recess in the crosshead F, and upon the outer end of whichis a nut 6 adapted to rotate in a slot f in the said cross-head, so thatthe knife-bar may be rotatably held to the cross-head and reciprocate inunison therewith, in order that the knife may be revolved or oscillatewith the knife-bar, so as to permit the operator to follow the curved orother lines marked on the goods or material. This cross-head may be ofthe usual or of any preferred construction, and may comprise two pieceshaving opposed recesses secured together and arranged to reciprocateupon the slides or guide-bars f which latter are preferably adj ustablysecured to the webs or sides of the bracket or frame D by the bolts fand the lock-nutsf, arranged upon the bolts on opposite sides of saidwebs.

A connecting-rod G has one end pivoted to the cross-head within therecess and its other end pivoted to a crank or crank-disk G, secured tothe outer end of the driving-shaft c, said connecting-rod being providedwith bolts passing through lugs or projections on the boxes, so as totake up the wear therein.

The guide E may be provided with a handle 72/, either fiat or of theform shown, so as to assist the operator in rotating the guide andmoving the machine through the material. By this means the knife may bereciprocated and the machine and knife guided so as to out any desiredform of article.

As a means for supporting the knife and its actuating mechanism abovethe table A, I may provide a foot-plate H of sufficient size to offerthe desired amount of friction between its lower surface and the surfaceof the table and to lift and hold the material in the proper positionwhile being cut. This foot-plate is provided with a standard h, whichserves to guide and protect the knife or cutter, and is provided with anopening or slot therethrough to permit the cutting edge of said knife topass below its upper surface. The upper portion of the standard. may beangular and has an aperture in its outer end, in which the end of a bolt77 is adapted to fit, said bolt being preferably arranged in an open orslotted boss on the guide E, so as to be readily removed therefrom,though the bolt may be held upon the guide in any preferred manner.

The standard h may be secured to the bolt or loosely arranged thereon,so as to permit its being moved upwardly upon the guide with the bolt asa pivot or to permit its entire removal, if desired, a nutor nuts 7L3being provided on the end or ends of the bolt, so as to rigidly hold thefoot-plate raised, or in the position shown in Figs. 4: and 6, or topermit its removal. An arm 71/1 has one end secured to or looselyarranged on the bolt, so as to swing downwardly on the guide, and on itsouter end is a roller 72?, adapted to rest upon the fabric or materialwhen the foot-plate is removed or swung upwardly upon the guide and toserve as a guard when employing said foot-plate, said arm and rollerbeing adjusted so as to support the mechanism above the material when itis desired to cut auopening into the body thereof, such as neck-holes,pockets, &c., the material in this case resting preferably upon a pad ofsuitable construction inorder to prevent the knife from cutting ormarring the surface of the table. The arm 72/ and its roller and thestandard h may be secured to the bolt 7L2, so that as the foot-plate israised the arm and roller may be simultaneously lowered, though each maybe adjusted independently of the other.

The operation of the invention will be readily understood from theforegoing description when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

Assuming the. parts to be in the position shown, it will be seen if themotor is started that the shaft 0 and the crank-disk G Will be caused torevolve, and through the connecting-rod G the cross-head F will berecipro cated, so as to imparta like movement to the knife-bar E inorder to rapidly reciprocate the knife 6 The goods or material beingplaced upon the table, so that the foot-plate H will lift the same abovethe surface of the table, the knife Will cut the series of layers, andas the operator moves the machine along by means of the guide E in theplane of the track the carriage and motor will travel therewith.

If it is desired to move the knife laterally, as indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 2, the motor may be swung upon its pivot, or if a sharp orother curve is to be cut the operator may rotate the guide E in the bossat of the bracket, so as to move the knife-bar, knife, and footplate inline With the curve marked on the goods, as heretofore explained, thecarriage and motor responding readily to each movement of the bracket,so that by the combined horizontal, transverse, and longitudinalmovement of the knife any desired form of article may be out. When it isdesired to cut neckholes, pockets, &c., the foot-plate may be removed orswung upwardly upon the guide E, and the arm 72. adjusted so as to restupon the material, and the machine operated as heretofore explained. Ithus provide a simple, light, and eflicient machine capable of cuttingany desired form of article, which may be readily placed in position foruse and which has its parts so supported or suspended that it may bereadily moved by the operator in any desired direction, so as to outeither straight or curved lines,without requiring the motor to beconstantly moved with the footplate or to be supported thereon.

Instead of the carriage being arranged upon a track on the table I mayin some instances suspend a track 2', Fig. 3, a suitable distance abovethe table by means of curved brackets '23, suspended by wires orotherwise from the ceiling or other portion of the room, so as to permitthe carriage to move readily along the track. This carriage may besimilarly constructed to that shown in Fig. 1 and has a depending rod 2'one end of whichis journaled in the frame of the carriage, while itsother end is arranged to clamp or hold the sleeve d between the motorand the bracket, so that said motor may serve in a measure tocounterbalance the Weight of the forward portion of the machine, thusavoiding unnecessary strain and friction upon the table.

, In Figs. 7 and 8 the knife-bar J is solid or of a tubular form with asolid end and has a recess or open end in which the upper end of theknife is adapted to fit. The knife is provided with a key-shaped slot j,so as to permit its being slipped over the head of the bolt j onto thebody thereof in order to be-rigidly secured to the knife-bar When thenut 7' is tightened, said nut being arranged in a recess in order thatthe knife-bar may readily slide within the guide E. A portion of theknife-bar is extended, as at j so as to strengthen the knife, and hasits lower end secured to the knife by a button-headed or other bolt j,the knife being provided With a slot having an enlarged and reducedportion to permit the knife to be removably secured to the knife-bar.

The form of the carriage and the number and arrangement of the wheelsthereon, as well as the arrangement and construction of the guide,knife-bar, and some of the other parts, may be changed, or a rotarycutter instead of a reciprocating knife or cutter may be employed insome instances.

' Instead of the roller k a plate or foot, as 'shown in Fig. 9, may beemployed, and some of the parts may be dispensed With or otherssubstituted therefor without departing from the spirit of'my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a cloth-cuttin g machine, the combination with a suitablecarriage, of a motor secured thereon by a pivotal connection adapting itto be swung or rotated about said pivot as an axis, a support for acutter, a sleeve extending from said motor to said support, and a shaftinclosed in said sleeve operatively connected with the armature of themotor and haying its opposite end connected With a cutter carried bysaid support so as to impart movement to the cutter, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a cloth-cutting machine,the combination with a suit-able carriageadapted to travel back and forth along a track, of a rotary. electricmotor secured to said carriage by a piv- IIO otal connection adapted topermit the motor to swing or oscillate on said pivot as a center, ashaft extending outwardly from the motor and directly connected to thearmature thereof so as to be rotated thereby, a bracket or support forthe outer end of said shaft, a cutter carried by said support, andconnections bet-ween the cutter and said shaft for imparting motion tothe cutter, substantially as described.

3. In a cloth-cutting machine,the combination with a carriage adapted totravel back and forth along a suitable track, of an electric motorpivotally secured upon said carriage so as to swing or oscillatethereon, a shaft extending directly from and connected withthe armatureof the motor so as to rotate with said armature, a bracket or support inwhich the outer end of said shaft is journaled, a cutter carried by saidsupport operatively connected with said shaft, and means for connectingthe motor with said support so as to adapt the support and cutter to beswung laterally toward either side of the line of travel of thecarriage, substantially as described.

4. In a cloth-cuttin g machine, the combina-.

a knife-bar guide carried by said support, a

knife-bar arranged to reciprocate in said guide,and connections betweensaid knife-bar and said shaft for imparting movement to the knife,substantially as described.

5. In a cloth-cutting machine, the combination with a cutter and itsactuating mechanism, of a pendent support for said cutter and afoot-plate pivoted to said support and ad apted to be swung upwardly outof the path of the cutter into a position to permit the cutter topenetrate through the body of the cloth, substantially as described.

6. In a cloth-cutting machine,the combination with a cutter anditsactuating mechanism, of a support for said cutter and a footplatepivoted to said support and adapted to be swung upwardly into a positiontopermit the cutter to penetrate through the body of the cloth, togetherwith a pivotally-supported arm provided with a roller and adapted toswingdownwardly so as to support the cutter and its actuating. mechanismabove the material to be cut, substantially as described.

7. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a bracket or frame, a rotatableshaft having a portion thereof journaled in said bracket, means forrotating the shaft, a guide arranged on the bracket, a knife-barprovided with a knife or cutter adapted to reciprocate in said guide,means for connecting the rotatable shaft and the knife-bar so as toreciprocate the latter, and a standard provided with a foot-platepivotally held to the guide so as to swing upwardly thereon,substantially as described.

8. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a bracket or frame, a rotatableshaft having a portion thereof journaled in said bracket, means forrotating the shaft, a guide arranged in the bracket, a knife-barprovided with a knife or cutter adapted to reciprocate in said guide,means for connecting the rotatable shaft and the knife-bar so as toreciprocate the latter, a standard provided with a footplate pivotallyheld upon the guide so as to permit it to be swung upwardly thereon, andan arm provided with a roller pivoted to the guide and adapted to swingdownwardly so as to support the guide and cutting mechanism above thematerial to be cut, substantially as described.

9. In acloth-cutting machine, the combination with a bracket or framehaving a knifebar guide thereon, of a knife-bararranged to reciprocatein said guide, an electric motor,

a shaft directly connecting the armature of said motor with saidbracket, connections between said shaft and knife-bar forimparting areciprocating movement to the knife, a frame-piece or sleeve extendingfrom the motor to said bracket, a carriage mounted on an elevated track,and a depending bar connectingsaid carriage and frame-piece or sleeve,so as to portably support said motor and the knife-bar and itsactuating-mechanism, substantially as described.

10. A- cloth-cutting machine, comprising a carriage adapted to travelalong a track, an

electric motor pivotally mounted upon said carriage, a shaft extending.outwardly from the motor and adapted to rotate with the armaturethereof, a bracket or support having one end of the shaft journaledtherein, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and connecting the bracket withthe motor so as to move in unison therewith, a guide provided with aguard at its lower end rotatably held in the bracket or support, across-head slidingly held upon the bracket, a knife-bar having one endrotatably held to the cross-head and adapted to reciprocate in androtate with the guide, a knife or cutter secured to the knifebar, acrank-disk arranged upon the end of the shaft, a connecting-rod havingits ends pivoted to the cross-head and the disk so as to reciprocate theknife-bar, and means for supporting the knife-operating mechanism abovethe material to be cut, substantially as described.

11. A cloth-cutting machine, comprisinga carriage adapted to travelalong a track, an electric motor pivotally mounted upon said carriage, ashaft extending outwardly from the motor and adapted to rotate with thearmature thereof, a bracket or support having one end of the shaftjournaled therein, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and connecting thebracket with the motor so as to move in unison therewith, a guide'rotatably held in the bracket or support, a cross-head slidingly heldupon the bracket, a knife-bar provided with a knife or cutter having oneend rotatably held to the cross-head and its body portion adapted toreciprocate in and rotate with the guide, connections between the shaftand the cross-head for reciprocating the knifebar, and a standardprovided with a foot-plate and removably held to the guide,substantially as described.

12. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a carriage adapted to travelback and forth along a track, amotor mounted upon said carriage, a shaftextending outwardly from said motor, a bracket or support having aportion of the shaft j ournaled therein, a knifebar guide arranged uponthe bracket, a knifebar provided with a knife or cutter, a crossheadconnected to the knife-bar, a crank secured to the shaft, aconnecting-rod pivoted to the crank and cross-head for reciprocating IIOthe knife-bar, a standard removably secured tothe knife-bar guide, andmeans for supporting the machine above the material when the standard isremoved, substantially as described.

13. A cloth-cutting machine, comprising a carriage and a track alongwhich said carriage may travel, a motor mounted upon said carriage, abracket or support arranged at a distance from the motor, a rigidconnection between the bracket and motor, a knifebar guide supportedupon the bracket, a knifebar provided with a knife and means connectingthe knife-bar to the shaft for reciprocating said knife-bar, a removablestandard se- 7 cured to the guide, and an arm adjustably held to theguide and provided with means forming a temporary support for themachine when the standard is removed, substantially as described.

14. A cloth-cutting machine comprising a carriage adapted to travelalong a track, an

electric motor pivotally mounted upon said carriage, a shaft extendingoutwardly from the motor and adapted to rotate with the armaturethereof, a bracket or support having one end of the shaft journaledtherein, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and connecting the bracket withthe motor, a knife-bar guide provided with a handle and rotatably heldin the bracket or support, a cross-head slidingly held upon the bracket,a knife-bar having one end rotatably held to the cross-head and adaptedto reciprocate in and rotate with the guide, connections between theshaft and the cross-head, and means for supporting the knife-operatingmechanism above the material to be cut, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN WOLF, JR. WVitnesses r JAMEs GUNNING,

JAMES NUGENT.

